A digital artist who usually charges hundreds of dollars a pop is redesigning strangers' lacklustre flyers for free after finding them on the street.

Max Kolomatsky, 25, was working as a freelance artist when he began noticing uninspiring posters and signs on street lights, the walls of buildings and the subway while walking through New York City.

He started picking them up and redesigning them for free in February 2023 - before putting up the new and improved flyers while posting videos on his TikTok @cool_lookin_bug.

Max, who has been compared to Banksy for his vigilante artwork, has completed at least 15 free redesigns by making boring and hard to read flyers pop with eye-catching images, bold colours and a stand-out typeface.

His most popular video has over 11 million views and features him redesigning a cleaning service's flyer into something more colourful, professional and superhero-themed.

Max, from Brooklyn, New York, US, said: "The first one I did was a group looking for people to join them to play Catan."

"I recorded it for TikTok and the reaction was pretty instant - I posted it at 5pm and it had over a million views by the time I went to sleep. "

"It was very unexpected."

"The group found the TikTok on the first night - they loved it. "

"They were excited that it had just come up on their phone. "

"I was hoping they would see it in public and have a surreal moment but it's almost better they saw the whole process."

Max, who has worked in illustration since 2020, has found redesigning a mutually beneficial experience.

He gets to make something for his portfolio and perform an act of kindness that helps businesses - while also inspiring other artists.

Hundreds of people have reached out to Max after seeing his TikToks, asking him to work his creative magic on their signs but he has decided against working that way.

To keep things fair he says he will continue picking random posters he spots on the streets of New York.

He said: "Honestly it's a bit overwhelming -"

some people tell me touching stories and I can't tend to everything.

"Depending on the complexity of a design it can take me an afternoon or multiple afternoons to complete a project."

"You want to tell the story in a compelling way and at times it has been a bit overwhelming because people are waiting for the next video."

"I prefer to do this slowly - quality over quantity."

Max uses Adobe's software for his digital artwork and the company have taken notice of his viral TikToks.

They now have a paid partnership and Adobe posts Max's content on their TikTok page.

Max's artwork has even led to him meeting some of the unsuspecting people he has helped.

Max redesigned a sign put up by a goth band looking for a guitarist and drummer and they reached out - eventually all meeting face-to-face.

Max said: "They did complete their band and they have released their own music."

"I gave them copies of the flyer and it was good promo for their band. "

"They had actually seen some of my videos beforehand and someone had made a joke to them like 'what if that guy redesigns it?" "

Max doesn't leave his details on his redesigned posters but it is something he has considered changing.

He said: "At first I was attracted to that idea of it being anonymous - just thinking about the moment a stranger discovers it. "

"But the ones with small businesses I want to try and see if I can attach files or something like that."

Despite the reaction to Max's artwork being overwhelmingly positive he has received a few negative comments.

His redesign of the goth band's poster attracted the most criticism.

He said: "A lot of people in the goth community who commented on that video said they liked the original flyer better because it was janky and homemade. "

"It was a turning point in the project for me because it made me very aware of my strengths and limitations as an artist. "

"I don't want to make an image more corporate or take charm away from the street. "

"But I have had some touching video responses and some people reacting in the comments. "

"I've also seen that some people are now doing this in their hometown. "

"There's now someone who's doing this in Berlin."